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Tuesday, January 3, 2012

City adds 66 sites to Heritage Inventory

Sixty six new sites have been added to the Inventory of Evaluated Historic Resources in 2011 - increase the number of heritage preservations sites to 680 across Calgary.

“This past year’s work has focussed on identifying sites that were built between 1945 and 1975," said Clint Robertson, Heritage Planner with The City of Calgary. "We’ve been able to do work in many of the mid-Twentieth century communities that have played a significant role in Calgary’s development history, but don’t always get recognized for the unique buildings that contribute to their communities’ character.”

Robertson said increased attendance and support for events like the Heritage Roundtables and Heritage Matters over the past year demonstrate that more and more Calgarians are valuing the role that heritage preservation and celebration plays in building a great city, as well as having complete communities.

“With the support of the Calgary Heritage Strategy from Council, we’ve been able to increase our inventory by 20 per cent over the past two years,” said Robertson.

Some of the new sites are easily recognized Calgary landmarks, such as the Saddledome and Louise Hillhurst bridge.

Scott Jolliffe, volunteer Chair of the Calgary Heritage Authority said people are really starting to recognize that heritage sites are not confined to the downtown.

"When people understand the heritage of their community, then they value it; this leads to people caring about it and advocating for it,” he added.

Some of the unique sites added to the Inventory of Evaluated Historic Resources in 2011, include:

Calgary’s Municipal Development Plan (MDP), the long term vision for how Calgary will grow over the next 60 years, supports historic preservation as part of good city building and community identity. Heritage aspects of communities help to build a sense of identity and pride in communities.